“It’s wonderfully ironical that a man who so disliked and never understood the press did so much to further the reputation of the press and particularly the “Washington Post”. In his darkest hour, he gave the press its finest hour. ” – Ben Bradlee
Number of Times Seen – 1 (14 Jan 2018)
Brief Synopsis – Documentary about the life of famed editor of the Washington Post Ben Bradlee who was one of the men who pushed the envelope in making sure that the public knew all that was going on in The White House during the 1970’s.
My Take on it – This was such a fascinating biography because we get to hear the life story told by the man himself.
Even-though Bradlee passed a way three years ago, they were able to use his voice-over work from his autobiography to accompany the telling of his life story here.
This is a bit eerie, yet also fascinating because this isn’t a technique used very often and it works so well here.
Bradlee was a champion of truth and of freedom of the press and he was part of the journalism elite at a time when newspapers were being tested against the secrets of the government and he played a major part in getting those stories out to the public.
They chose to balance the stories of his career with his troubled home life and it is all discussed so openly that it makes one sit in awe of the bravery of a man to tell the world how an why he did things in his life that one would assume he would have regretted, yet he states that he regrets absolutely none of the decisions that he made in life.
This film utilizes interviews with Bradlee’s friends, colleague and family members which helps give us an even broader portrait of who he truly was.
Bottom Line – Such a fascinating portrait of a man who truly did so much both for the freedom of the press and for making sure that the true was told as much as possible. The use of Bradlee’s voice from the recordings of his memoirs is a bit eerie yet still helps so much to tell the story of this amazing man’s life. The way that even his personal life is open to discussion is also quite brave since he was a man who supposedly never regretted any decisions that he made in life. The interviews with friends, colleagues and family members help bring his story to life even 3 years after his death. Highly Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – He became a national figure during the presidency of Richard Nixon, when he challenged the federal government over the right to publish the Pentagon Papers and oversaw the publication of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s stories documenting the Watergate scandal. (From Wikipedia)
Rating – Oscar Worthy
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